**Book name:** Steal like an artist **Author:** Austin Kleon **Publication Year:** 2012 **Read:** May 2020 --- ## 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences 1. There’s nothing new. Everybody steal from others. Stealing from one is plagiarism, but stealing from many it’s research. 2. Have a creative tree, then research the creative tree of those who inspire you. So you won’t try to like them but to see like them. 3. Keep a log record to track your–daily–progress. So you discover “who you are” while working. Do not wait to figure out “who you are” to get started. ## 🎨 Impressions I discovered this book by a youtube video around 2020 when [COVID lockdowns began](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_lockdowns). And it was a total relief as I was coming from my first formal role in UX Design. I'd totally recommend this is a book to any artist or creative who is going through a gap in their career. Plus, I think this is a must read if you're around social media and content creation. To me, this book changed my approach to the “blank page paralysis”. Now is my recurring reading when I feel low in creative energy or lack of inspiration to keep going and grow. ## ❝ Quotes I’d save forever - “Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done.” - “If you ever find that you're the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.” - “Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing.” - **“The artist is a collector. Not a hoarder, mind you, there's a difference: Hoarders collect indiscriminately, artists collect selectively. They only collect things that they really love.”** - “Not everybody will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names. So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored -- the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.” - “when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past.” - “In the end, creativity isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out.” - “The thing is: It takes a lot of energy to be creative. You don’t have that energy if you waste it on other stuff.” - “Enjoy your obscurity (not being seen) while it lasts.” - “Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent” —[Jim Jarmusch](http://tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/72074449/director-jim-jarmusch-on-borrowing-for-art-from), Movies Director. - **“Seeing yourself as part of a creative lineage will help you feel less alone as you start making your own stuff. I hang pictures of my favorite artists in my studio. They’re like friendly ghosts. I can almost feel them pushing me forward as I’m hunched over my desk.”** - **“Nobody is born with a style or a voice. We don’t come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.”** ## 📒 Other Notes